"Let's say we are born with such a predisposition-that humans like bees, are drawn instinctively to flowers." -Michael Pollan (from "The Botany of Desire")

There is such a joy when we look at the new blooms in a plant, but what is it really that we are attracted to when we see a bright flower?Accordingly to our most native instinct to flowers is the relationship between the fruit and the flower. The significance of a flower is the first sign of prosperity, that the plant will give us fruit.

We have been so inspired by our new gardens at our partnering Farm at Pata Palo. Many local vegetable and fruit trees are blooming constantly. We are located in one of the most fertile of lands near Arenal volcano, with past volcanic eruptions it has filled the soil with rich nutrients, making it a great place to harvest our own products.

Have you experienced a meal made from ingredients you just harvested yourself?There is no better satisfaction than knowing you have picked a fresh produce right from the ground that you will be eating right away. Fresh picked produce makes you feel alive! The ingredients are crunchier, colorful, they are picked right at their optimum point and in season, no grower enhancers or additives to preserve them, plus they contain more nutrients than a stored produce.After years of offering cooking classes Chef Scott Alan wanted to involve our visitors in something that would make them connect with the process of preparing food even further, by getting to know how to pick and prepare the produce right at the farm. At our new tour “Farm to Table” we hope to bring that experience to a lot more people traveling through La Fortuna, Costa Rica. We want our visitors to get to know more about our ways to connect with food.#farmtotable #costarica #freshfood #eatlocal #lafortuna #eathealthy

Walking through the streets of Barcelona was such a delight to my eyes! In the past few days I've been exploring stunting food street markets where you can find almost about anything you can imagine. Even the display of the food is mesmerizing, the colors, the smells, is very inspiring. After a stroll to the street markets it was time to get the fresh produce to the kitchen and make some traditional recipes.

Along with Barcelona Cooking I learned to make really amazing dishes. Some of the dishes we prepared were, a classic Paella with fresh sea food, Torta Española, Butternut Squash Soup, Tomato bread, a Catalan Creme Brûlée, local chorizo with white beans and a Catalan dessert!After having a great time cooking I headed to a local winery outside of Barcelona, where I was greeted with some of the most amazing local wine with sides of local cheese!Tasting different flavors along with learning about new ways of cooking has been very inspiring. Getting to know the food of another country is the best way to immerse your self in their traditions. I hope this post inspires you to try new recipes and when you travel, make sure to take at least one new recipe back home!-Scott

The farm to table movement is an event where people can get to know where your food comes from. Getting to know the farm where produce is grown, harvest the crops and learn to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen. This is a movement to support small local businesses and small scale producers.

At this tour you will learn about Costa Rican agriculture and culinary practices. At the farm there are a wide range of wildlife like our resident sloths that will greet you upon arrival. ​​

Ok, it's true, here in Costa Rica were in the middle of our winter, but our winter is like no other in most parts of the world. We get the bulk of our rain in these months, 230 inches a year. We call it the green season May-Nov (sounds better than winter right?). So as a result, that's when everything grows! It's a beautiful place and soooo green this time of year, it's a beauty to behold and TASTE!!

So here it is: A taste of Freshness, we'll call it.

Garlic roasted broccoli with sundries tomatoes and goat cheese.

Ingredients:

Olive oilGarlicSalt Goat cheeseSundried tomatoesFresh basilBroccoli

Lightly steam the 2 bunches of fresh cut broccoli and set aside.

rehydrate your sundried tomatoes by placing in a bowl of warm water for 1-2 minutes.

Heat olive oil in pan and add garlic, cook for a 1 1/2 minutes before adding the broccoli and sundried tomatoes. Then sauté everything together for 3-4 minutes on med-high flame. Add salt and serve on a plate with fresh goat cheese and sweet basil placed on top.

Here again to talk about some dog adopting in Costa Rica. I know you all know that dogs are a big part of my life, so when we were asked to participate in the first annual pet expo for San Carlos Costa Rica, I jumped at the chance.

Of course, to be able to raise the money to help more dogs, it was a no-brainer right! So we decided to sell hot dogs (lol) and sodas as well as street dog t shirts. Well the whole thing was a big success!! We made a little bit of money to put towards the care of some of the dogs were caring for, but more importantly we were able to adopt out 10 puppies to some really good local homes. That was awesome!! The hardest thing about rescuing dogs is the caring for them, until they get adopted , hence the new name of my dog association is Costa Rica Dog Rescue. I really like the idea of focusing on the adoption part, because that's what we really need to do a lot, so if you or anyone you know wants a dog, check out our website or FB and you can get your very own Tico Dog! Thanks for checking in, see you next time. Here's a short video about this event: YouTubeChannel

Costa Rica Cooking was at Rancho Margot the same day CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta was there doing a story on Rancho Margot's owner and founder, Juan Sostheim.

*Not sure where or what Rancho Margot is? Rancho Margot is located about a 40-minute drive from La Fortuna to a little town beside Lake Arenal called El Castillo. Ranch Margot says this about themselves:"At Rancho Margot, we make choices everyday to achieve greater and greater self-sufficiency with the ultimate goal of living sustainably."
And they're doing this by such means as; generating their own electricity, creating biogas and using compost ovens to heat water. But that's just the tip of the iceberg at Rancho Margot, they also make their own soap, furniture etc..... well I'm sure you get the picture. For more info on Rancho Margot. Or better yet, watch the video below and it will tell you everything you need to know about the Ranch.

Hey Everyone! It was so COOL to be part of the bigger picture that is Rancho Margot. I had contacted Juan a few weeks before to tell him my idea about doing a cooking video using the beautiful Rancho Margot as the backdrop. Juan was all for it. It was only coincidence that we were out there the same day as CNN. But I have to say, it was exciting.

We had a great day filming with michael alan & D'Angelo, at Rancho Margot and if you watch the video, you see Juan and Elizabeth really LOVED the food... which is really what it's all about. The second video was put out by the folks at CNN about a week ago and is a great overview of Juan and his vision that is Rancho Margot. Enjoy both videos. Pura Vida.

SUCCESS! One of our dogs straight off the streets of La Fortuna, Costa Rica has been adopted in California.

First, a little background. When you're as passionate about dogs as I am, you often meet others with an equal passion, which is exactly what happened with Shannon, the owner of LA's, Bark n' Bitches.

From Shannon's website:

"Not only do I have this amazing Dog Boutique in the heart of hip L.A., but I created "Jimi's Angels Rescue" to continue my work to support the homeless dogs of Los Angeles."

Shannon said she'd love to help us anyway she could and now she's instrumental in helping to rescue not only LA's homeless dogs but the homeless dogs in Costa Rica as well. With our fingers crossed, we began sending a few of our 'street dogs' to Shannon in hopes of finding them good homes, because as you can probably imagine, it can be hard for dogs to make the transition from a life on the streets to the boundaries of a home. But great news for 'Reina', one of our first dogs to make the trip to Cali, she's been adopted into a loving home. *That's her above with her new owners.

Our first report on how Reina is adjusting-"At first the transition was a little difficult for Reina as you might have guessed. But now she's bonded with our family and she's turning into a great dog who loves to give kisses".This is great news and hopefully will be the first of many more successful adoptions to come. Thanx so much Shannon, we truly appreciate your help and support.

Until next time- Pura Vida!

Reina has found her forever family. She turned into a great dog. It definitely took her some time to really bond with humans after living on the street. At the beginning she would barely tolerate people butnow, she just loves people and gives plenty of kisses.